Leadership

Water Technology Inc.

Doug Whiteaker

ack in high school, Doug Whiteaker
was already building pools. But he
really wanted to be building healthy teeth and gums, until a trip
to Europe changed his mind.

“I saw
a lot of neat pools there and decided to stay in the
industry,” he says. He even brought back some of the European
concepts, such as zero-depth, and incorporated them into his own
designs.

Whiteaker,
now principal in charge of Water Technology Inc. in Beaver Dam,
Wis., was already building commercial pools in high school and
college. Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he had introduced his father,
Richard, to a friend’s father, who was trying to get into the
commercial pool business. Together, the two dads started building
pools.

In 1983,
Richard Whiteaker formed Water Technology with brothers Chuck and
Randy Neuman. By then, son Doug had graduated from Luther College
in Decorah, Iowa, with a dual degree in biochemistry and
physiology, and had traded his dental plans for pool
blueprints.

As a
competitive swimmer since age 6, Whiteaker is familiar with various
pool systems and quality — and how important the two are to
the swimming experience.

“It’s been a very
important aspect for me to have good water and air quality,”
he says, noting that athletes who swim 15,000 yards a day or spend
eight hours a day in the water need a better quality of life than
some of the pool conditions he’s seen.

Today, the
51-year-old focuses on creating multifaceted facilities that appeal
to a broad range of users. And he travels to trade shows and
conferences, giving seminars that spread the word about these types
of facilities.

“I have
a holistic approach to things that not only function well from a
mechanical aspect, but also a unique design that provides
multiplicity in different water temperatures,” Whiteaker
says. For example, a learn-to-swim pool can be converted into a
wellness pool for morning exercise classes, set at a temperature
that can help people in rehabilitation practice
exercises.

But
regardless of how a pool is used, he says it’s important for
people from all parts of the industry to remember that aquatics is
about more than water.

“It’s a very heartfelt
experience when I see people in the wellness pools. They can barely
walk or have severe handicaps. They get in, and they can increase
their flexibility, muscle tone and … have a much better
quality of life.” — Rin-rin Yu